Adidome, June 1, GNA-Mrs Theresa Kufuor, the First Lady, on Friday expressed regret over the sudden rise in HIV prevalent rate in the country.

She said after declining from 3.1 percent in 2004 to 2.7 percent in 2005, the rate climbed up to 3.2 percent last year and that "something must have gone wrong".

Mrs Kufuor, who was addressing an HIV/AIDS sensitization and anti-stigmatization durbar at Adidome in the North-Tongu District, said with the efforts being made to contain the disease, one would have thought that the drop in the rate of infection was going to be sustainable.

The durbar was the last in the series of regional outreaches organized by the Mother and Child Foundation, a brainchild of the First Lady, in collaboration with the Ghana AIDSS Commission to seek the support of traditional rulers in particular and Ghanaians in general to stem the spread of the disease and the stigmatization of those infected. It was under the theme; "Stigma Reduction Begins With You-Let Us Wage War Against HIV/AIDS".

Mrs Kufuor said the anti HIV/AIDS campaign could only be effective if it resulted in the change of attitudes and urged the people to practice preventive measures. She appealed to people to avoid stigmatizing and discrimination against people living with the disease as "stigmatization and discrimination does not and will never help in the fight against the disease".

She said this attitude would result in a further spread of the disease, as people are afraid to disclose their status or go for voluntary tests. Mr Joseph Nayan, the Deputy Volta Regional Minister, said the disease needed a multi-sector approach and intervention to protect those not yet infected.

He said the Volta Regional prevalent rate was noted to have dropped from 3.5 percent in 2004 to 1.9 percent in 2005 with a further drop anticipated in 2006.